Spy Game
by gladrags2012
Summary: Tom has found a brilliant new online role playing game. It's better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Exactly who is Tom playing with ?
1. Chapter 1

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?

Tom sat in the base where he was supposed to be researching some new KORPS technology which the technical team had passed on to him and Frank. What he was actually doing was playing a new online role playing game he had found. It was epic ! The characters had to find their way round a maze of buildings, locating hidden treasures and escaping capture by robotic guards. There were other people playing characters in the game and he was really enjoying it. He was so engrossed, he didn't hear the lift doors opening and got a fright to find Aneisha, Dan and Zoe peering over his shoulder.

"What's this one Tom ?" asked Dan sceptically. "Blade Quest and Dragons ?"

"No !" said Tom, trying to close down the window to hide it from their view. "If you must know it's called 'Spy Game' and I thought it might be useful for picking up some tactical hints in case they come in useful for future missions." He was quite pleased with that. Unfortunately it showed on his face and the others started laughing.

"Yeah. That's definitely why you started playing it !" teased Aneisha. "Where's Frank ?" she asked.

"Why ?" asked Tom.

"He called us down here. Paying attention Tom ?" asked Dan, sounding exasperated. He pulled Tom's pencil communicator out of his pocket, which was flashing, and waved it under his nose.

Frank came out of the shadows at the back of the room. "Ah, good. I need to brief you on a mission," he said. "Tom, there should be some files through from HQ," he prompted.

Tom turned back to his computer and at top speed, closed down his game and pulled up the email. He found the files from HQ and played them on the large display for everyone to watch. The first was a video taken at some kind of industrial facility. Lorries were arriving and unloading goods into a bay at the back of the building. "This is surveillance footage taken at a suspected KORPS factory," said Frank. "We've been tracking the deliveries made here and they are a wide range of electronics and chemicals. MI9 are concerned that it might be some kind of weapons factory. We need to infiltrate the building and find out what is going on. That's where you come in," he told them. "Tom, can you pull up the next file please ?" he asked.

The next file was a schematic of the building. It was complex with many rooms and corridors. Tom thought it was quite like his role playing game setup. This was going to be fun ! He could try out some of his new tactics.

"How are we going to find our way round in there ?" asked Dan.

"You won't have to will you ?" asked Tom, grinning. "I'll do the hard work for you. You'll just have to get round without getting caught."

"Well, thanks for that," said Aneisha sarcastically. "On the other hand, why don't I sit here eating biscuits and you can risk your neck creeping round enemy headquarters trying not to get caught," she said.

"But I'm not any good at that," said Tom.

"No, so don't act like it's all a big game then please," said Aneisha. She sounded really annoyed.

Frank cleared his throat. "Well, I'm planning on the usual arrangements. Tom is to work as comms and control from here, and the rest of you will infiltrate the plant and find out as much information as you can."

"What are we looking for ?" asked Zoe.

"We want to know what they are making there and if possible, what they plan to do with it," explained Frank.

Tom handed out Spy-pods, camera contact lenses and proximity detectors, known to the team as 'thingies'. Dan put a few other items into his backpack. He liked to be prepared, and it was the sort of stuff that Tom wasn't interested in, like rope, bungees, duct tape and a spare torch. "Do we know anything about their security ?" asked Aneisha.

"No, unfortunately not," said Frank. "We're hoping to smuggle you in with some of the supplies," he explained. "That should be the trickiest part of the operation, with luck."

Sitting in the black van on the way to the secret KORPS plant, Aneisha was still cross with Tom. "I wish he would stop treating this all like some big game !" she complained. "He's sitting in HQ all the time playing on his computer. I sometimes wonder if he knows the difference between fantasy and real life. I'm starting to feel like I'm a character in one of his games."

"Don't worry. He knows the difference," said Dan. "It's just that he thinks differently to us, well to me anyway. It's the playing that gives him the ideas. We need the ideas don't we ?" he asked. "He worked out how to stop that Dark Wizard bloke from turning the world into a giant Blade Quest Convention didn't he ?"

"I think we helped as well Dan," pointed out Aneisha. "You got a good few bruises for your efforts didn't you ?"

Dan shrugged. "Tom worked out how to stop the gravity machine, and Tom took a few risks too didn't he ?" he pointed out. "We can't all be the same. It's because we're all different that the team works."

Soon they had arrived at their destination and were dropped off close to the KORPS factory. The three agents were wearing their ear-pieces and head cameras. They arrived at a large wire fence. Tom's voice came over their ear-pieces. "Right, you're at the fence. Whatever you do," he began. Dan reached out with cutters, but as soon as he touched the fence an electric charge shot out, sending him flying backwards, crashing to the ground. "Don't touch it," finished Tom. "Who touched it ?" he asked.

"Dan," said Aneisha, leaning over Dan, who was lying on the ground looking dazed.

"I have got to stop doing that," muttered Dan. Aneisha helped him to get up.

"Are you alright Dan ?" asked Tom. "There's quite a hefty voltage on that fence."

"Yeah. I know," said Dan, staggering to his left slightly. "How do we get through it ?" he asked, staggering to his right. After he nearly toppled over, Zoe leaned up against him on one side, and Aneisha leaned up against the other. "Thanks," said Dan.

"I haven't done anything yet," said Tom.

"Not you," said Dan.

"Oh. Well, I've got access to the electrical supply for the site. I'm going to turn it off for about 60 seconds. That should give you just enough time to cut your way through. Then I'll have to turn the electricity back on. Are you OK with that ?" asked Tom.

"Sounds good," said Dan. He handed the cutters to Aneisha.

"You're stronger than me," said Aneisha, looking puzzled.

"I can't feel the ends of my fingers at the moment," said Dan. "Can you do it ?"

"Oh, alright. Give me a countdown will you Tom ?" she asked.

"OK. Electricity off in three, two, one, NOW !" shouted Tom. Zoe, Dan and Aneisha all winced and put their hands over their ears. Then, a bit flustered, Aneisha started cutting through the wires of the fence, first up in a line and then across. Once she'd made a decent sized cut, Dan grabbed the wiring with Zoe and they pulled it open. Then Zoe climbed through, followed by Dan and Aneisha. They pulled the hole closed again and Tom repeated his countdown before turning the electricity back on. "Are you all in ?" asked Tom.

"Yes. You don't need to shout Tom. We're all wearing ear-pieces," Zoe reminded him.

"Oh. Sorry about that," Tom apologised.

"OK. Let's go find some baddies," said Aneisha.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?**

"_Are you all in ?" asked Tom._

"_Yes. You don't need to shout Tom. We're all wearing ear-pieces," Zoe reminded him._

"_Oh. Sorry about that," Tom apologised._

"_OK. Let's go find some baddies," said Aneisha._

Keeping low, they circled the factory yards, dodging between containers and lorries. There were quite a lot of people moving around the site and they had to keep their wits about them. Tom was trying to hack into the site's CCTV, but hadn't managed to gain access so far. They were on their own. They came to a stop, close to the loading bay where the lorries were being unloaded into the back of the factory. One man was using a fork-lift truck to carry palettes of goods into the building.

"What do we do ?" asked Zoe.

"We could try getting into one of the crates," suggested Aneisha.

"It's going to be harder to get into one of the crates unseen than it would be just walking into the factory," said Dan. "How about we wait until all the KORPS people are on the other side of a crate, and just walk in behind the crate ?" he suggested.

"That might not happen," said Aneisha. Just then, a siren sounded and the KORPS people started shouting to each other.

"Twenty minutes to curfew people !" shouted one of the men. "Let's get this stuff inside and get out of here," he added. This seemed to concentrate everyone's energies and the KORPS people started rushing around, loading up trollies and palettes, trying to get them into the building quickly.

Zoe spotted an opportunity. "Quick ! That one !" she whispered to the others, pointing to a long low box being trucked into the building which was coming up past their hiding place. "Now !" she hissed.

The three agents dashed out of their hiding place, and crouched down behind the large crate, tracking it's progress into the building. Their luck held and nobody noticed them dashing through the open doors and ducking down behind a pile of crates inside the goods area. Carefully, they made their way backwards through the piles of goods before running through an open door into some kind of laboratory.

"It sounds like they're all getting ready to leave," whispered Aneisha. "Maybe if we find a hiding place, we can start exploring once they've all gone. The others nodded and they all tucked themselves under some lab benches at the end of the room furthest from the doors.

After a while they heard a second siren go off. The KORPS people could be heard rushing out of the building. There was a loud clang as the loading bay doors shut and then they heard lorries' engines starting up and heard them leaving. Soon there was silence in the building, followed by the sound of two short siren hoots.

"I wonder who that was for ?" asked Dan. "Get the thingies out and see if anyone is around," he suggested. All three of them got out their proximity detectors to see if there was anyone near them. The detectors were silent. There was nobody close by.

"OK. Let's go exploring," said Aneisha. "There's nobody around. This should be easy," she said.

Tom was listening to the team discussing their activities, but he was also playing his role-playing game on the other computer. He glanced over his shoulder to see what Frank was doing. Frank seemed to be talking quietly to someone via the computers on the far side of the room. It was probably Stella. Tom smiled to himself. He quickly checked the team's trackers on the screen. Dan was pale blue, Zoe was red and Aneisha was yellow, as usual. Their positions showed as moving out into a corridor near the main entrance. Tom switched his attention to the other screen. His three players were moving through the maze towards one of the treasure rooms. There seemed to be some other figures active in the game, moving around the maze as well. There were long worm-like shapes and others that were just spiky dots which glowed red every so often. He guessed these might be guardians who had to be avoided. He wondered what they did. It was so exciting exploring a new game !

"Tom, have you managed to find any CCTV yet ?" asked Aneisha's voice.

"Erm, not yet. Still trying," said Tom. Guiltily, he minimised the games window and pulled up the screens he'd been using without success to try to hack into the KORPS facility's systems. Thinking for a moment he tried a different tactic.

Zoe and the others peered round a corner into the area behind the loading bay. Piles of crates and boxes lay all around. There didn't seem to be any order to them. They had been dumped where ever there was space. Aneisha checked her proximity detector, but it was still showing nobody in the area. They all tensed when they heard a humming noise approaching from a corridor at the back of the storage area.

Three machines rolled into the storage room and spread out in different directions. They watched the machine nearest them curiously. The machine was about the size of two washing machines stuck together. It was completely black and appeared to be solid with a camera mounted on the front, making it look like a squat, black cyclops. It rolled up to a pile of boxes on a crate. A flexible arm with what looked like a bar code scanner stretched out from inside the machine. It waved at the boxes until there was a beep, then it moved on to another pile of goods and did the same. Each of the robots swept through the room recording the goods which were piled up there.

More humming sounds came from the same corridor as the first robots. Long low trolleys wheeled into the room, each with a flashing green light on the front. They halted beside different piles of boxes. The black robots each joined a trolley. A sharp blade appeared from the nearest one and it sliced through the plastic wrapping round a pile of boxes before robotic arms appeared from the top of the machine and it started piling the boxes individually on to the trolley. The other cyclops robots each did similar things. Once each trolley was piled with boxes, it set off back down the corridor. More trollies came to replace them and the robots gradually sorted through all the stuff piled in heaps.

"Do you think they would see us ?" whispered Aneisha.

"The cameras would probably see you, but it depends what the robots have been programmed to do if they see someone, or if they would even recognise you as a person," said Tom into her earpiece.

"Everyone seemed very keen to leave," commented Dan. "I think we should keep out of their way for now. It's not worth the risk. They'll be finished here soon by the look of it."

"Good idea," said Frank's voice. Tom jumped when he heard Frank standing behind his chair. He was glad he had minimised the window with the game on it. Frank would do his nut if he found Tom playing games during a mission. "Why don't you follow the robots when they finish. It might lead you to the manufacturing areas."

"They're finishing," whispered Zoe. "Let's follow them."

The last trolley headed off down the corridor. The storage area was now empty except for some opened packing. The cyclops robots followed the trollies back down the corridor. Taking care not to get caught in the robot cameras' sights the agents followed at a safe distance. All of the robots disappeared through double doors at the end of the corridor. When the team arrived at the doors, they opened automatically. Everyone stood and gasped. Behind the doors was a vast open area filled with all kinds of manufacturing equipment. There were conveyor belts, huge machines and many smaller robots carrying out different functions. There was a roar of machinery.

"There's nobody in here !" said Zoe, gazing around her. "It's all completely automated."

"Come on. Let's get a closer look," said Dan, leading them into the factory floor. "Are you getting all of this Tom ?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's amazing !" said Tom. He and Frank were hunched over his computer screen watching the pictures being sent by the headsets of the field team. "Wow !" he said, on seeing a multi-armed robot fabricating some kind of electronic equipment.

Different machines seemed to be moving about the huge room, carrying components or possibly finished equipment from place to place. The conveyor belts moved at different speeds. Some moved slowly from place to place, stopping while components were added, and others sped round the building carrying many items around the vast hall.

Zoe dodged as a trolley carrying small boxes came down the alleyway between rows of robots where she was standing. "They don't seem to be taking any notice of us," she said. "Try to find out what the things are that they are making," instructed Frank. Each of the agents spread out to try to identify the things on the production lines. Aneisha used the photographic contact lenses. Dan just used his spy-pod to take pictures.


	3. Chapter 3

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?

_Zoe dodged as a trolley carrying small boxes came down the alleyway between rows of robots where she was standing. "They don't seem to be taking any notice of us," she said. "Try to find out what the things are that they are making," instructed Frank. Each of the agents spread out to try to identify the things on the production lines. Aneisha used the photographic contact lenses. Dan just used his spy-pod to take pictures._

Dan took his spy-pod and took pictures of some of the items near the end of one of the production lines. He then took photos of the factory itself. He noticed a set of windows half way up one of the walls. He spoke into his headset. It was so noisy in the factory that there was no point in trying to call to the others. "Do you see that set of windows on the wall on the left ?" he asked. "Do you think it could be some kind of control room for this place ?"

The others also looked where he had indicated. "Could be," said Zoe. "Maybe there is someone here after all. Let's check it out."

"Alright, I don't have to tell you to be careful," said Frank. "If anyone's monitoring the factory, they are going to be in there."

Aneisha waved her hand to the others, and they all set off for the side of the factory, dodging all types of robots as they went. They didn't meet any of the black cyclops robots. A set of doors at the side of the factory lead to a staircase. They climbed what seemed like twenty flights of stairs before they arrived, panting, at a set of doors. They checked their proximity detectors which showed nobody nearby. Just to be sure, Dan set his spy-pod against the door to listen for sounds within the room behind. There was nothing. He looked at the others and shrugged. Zoe pushed the door open and they ran inside, ducking into defensive poses.

They found themselves in an empty room surrounded by banks of equipment. There were symbols and printed text besides many of the control panels, but they didn't recognise them. "Frank, do you know what language these are printed in ?" asked Aneisha.

"No I don't. Take some pictures and send them back. I'll get someone to look at them," promised Frank. Aneisha took the pictures and sent them back. Tom loaded them into a memory stick and gave them to Frank. Frank went off across the room to get someone from HQ to translate for him.

While he was away, Tom quickly checked on his game status. Nothing had changed since he had last looked. He moved his players through the maze and entered one of the treasure rooms. He instructed one of the players to take the treasure from the room. As they left the room, one of the dots on the screen flashed and started to move. Frank returned and Tom minimised the screen again before he could see it.

"Team, that language is Japanese," Frank told them. The manufacturing equipment must have come from Japan. There's nothing sinister about that. The people who supplied the factory equipment won't have known what it was to be used for."

"Do you have any idea what the equipment was that we filmed ?" asked Dan. "I don't know what they are, but they're making a lot of them."

"We're not sure," replied Frank. "I haven't had much time to look at them yet. I'll let you know as soon as we do," he promised.

"What do these controls do ?" asked Zoe. She pressed a button beside one of the screens and it showed a picture of a room lined with gas containers.

"Don't touch any of the controls," warned Tom. "They could do anything. You might set off an alarm. We don't know."

"I'm waiting to get some of the instructions translated," said Frank. "Don't touch anything until we know what they do," he ordered.

In a storage room at the back of the factory building, a large black ball started to roll across the room and out of the door. It set off through a maze of corridors towards the factory floor, followed by two more of the same.

"This screen is showing a room filled with gas cannisters," said Aneisha. "Shouldn't we check on what they are ?" she asked.

"OK. You and Dan head off and try to find out what they are. Zoe, I want you to stay in the control room until we've got some translations," instructed Frank. Zoe and Dan both looked a little disappointed. Aneisha rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Come on. It won't take long," she said in exasperation to Dan.

Dan and Aneisha left the control room. Zoe looked around for a chair. There were none. She wondered if anyone ever came to the factory. Since there were no chairs, she sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and waited for further instructions.

Dan and Aneisha finally arrived at the factory floor again, puffing after all the stairs. "You would think they'd put in a lift," complained Aneisha.

"I don't think this place has been built with humans in mind," said Dan. "It seems to be all about the robots. Did you notice there weren't any chairs in the control room ?" he asked. "I don't think anyone has been here since it was built." He touched his earpiece. "Tom, where do you think we should look for this room with the gas canisters ?"

"Try towards the back of the factory," suggested Tom. "There seem to be some rooms marked there. I'll give you instructions on how to get there. The corridors are a proper maze."

"This place is starting to give me the creeps," said Aneisha.

"Well, look on the bright side," said Dan. "There's nobody here to catch us, is there ?"

"Maybe they've automated that as well," said Aneisha, looking around her nervously.

They walked through the factory, dodging busy robots. None of them seemed to take any notice of them. At least, none of them did until they found themselves face to eye with one of the black cyclops robots. It stopped dead, and seemed to be staring at them with it's single camera eye. Suddenly an arm shot out with the long cutting tool. It advanced towards them. "Oh no ! I think it's noticed us !" cried Aneisha. They both looked round for some way of escape. They were caught in a narrow alley between ranks of factory machinery.

"Quick, up here !" shouted Dan, leaping up on to a conveyor belt travelling past on their right. He grabbed Aneisha's arm as she hesitated and pulled her up behind him. The conveyor was travelling quickly and they both fell to their knees as Aneisha was pulled behind. The arm of the robot slashed out towards them, missing Dan, but cutting Aneisha's arm as she shot past.

"Ow !" she shouted out. She grabbed her arm to cover the wound.

"Hang on !" shouted Dan. "When we get to the end of this line, we need to jump off." He looked behind them and saw that the black cyclops robot was turning and seemed to be searching for them. Dan hoped that the machine wouldn't be able to identify them from this distance. Too quickly they had reached the end of the flat conveyor section. Dan grasped both of Aneisha's arms and helped her jump off with him, steadying her as they landed. "Quick, let's get out of here !" he shouted, and pulled Aneisha with him along the factory line, across and out of some double doors at the end of the building. They ran a short way and then pulled into a small side corridor where they stopped, crouching on the floor. "I think we've lost it," said Dan, breathing heavily.

Dan took off his backpack and pulled out a first aid kit. He cut up Aneisha's sleeve to the cut on her forearm. Then he cleaned the wound, put on a dressing and wrapped a bandage round as tightly as he dared. Aneisha winced as he worked but didn't complain. Dan tapped his earpiece. "Tom, Frank, Aneisha's been hurt. One of the robots detected us and has cut her arm. It's not a deep wound, but it's going to bleed. What shall we do ? Do you want to abort the mission ?" he asked.

"Aneisha, are you alright ?" asked Frank's worried voice.

"I'm OK," she said hesitantly. "Dan's done the first aid bit. I don't know what it's going to be like if we're here for a long time," she said.

"You could stay here while I go and check out this gas room," suggested Dan.

"If it's alright with you, I'd rather we stick together," said Aneisha.

"OK, we're going to have to shorten the mission then," said Frank. "Stick together, find this gas room, check what you can on the way and then get back out quickly," he instructed. "If Aneisha's condition deteriorates, abort the mission and get out."


	4. Chapter 4

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?

"_OK, we're going to have to shorten the mission then," said Frank. "Stick together, find this gas room, check what you can on the way and then get back out quickly," he instructed. "If Aneisha's condition deteriorates, abort the mission and get out."_

Tom opened the window with the factory layout on it. "OK, you want to go straight down the main corridor and take your second smaller corridor on your right," he said. Dan and Aneisha did as he instructed. "There should be a door at the end of the corridor," he added. He listened for a response from Dan and Aneisha, but time went by and there was none. "Dan ? Have you found it yet ?" asked Tom.

"No, we've just come to a T junction," said Dan, sounding puzzled. "There isn't a door here Tom."

Baffled, Tom looked back at his building schematic and then he felt his stomach hit the floor. He hadn't been looking at the factory schematic. He'd been looking at his game layout. The two looked so similar he had pulled up the wrong one. "Oh no ! Sorry Dan, I've sent you the wrong way," said Tom. Frantically he minimised the game window and pulled up the factory schematic. He found the two markers for Dan and Aneisha, blinking at a corridor junction. They were nowhere near the room he had tried to send them to. "OK, I've got you now. You need to turn left," instructed Tom.

Dan and Aneisha looked at one another. "You are concentrating aren't you Tom ?" asked Dan. "We haven't got a lot of time remember," he said.

"I am. Sorry," said Tom. "Left and straight on, then turn left again. There will be some doors on your right." Tom watched the two dots moving off down the corridor. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. He needed to keep his mind on the game. No, no, not the game ! The mission !

Dan and Aneisha arrived at the promised doors this time. Dan glanced at Aneisha. "You OK ?" he asked. Aneisha nodded. He pushed at the first door. It was really heavy and he struggled to push it open. Inside the room were huge gas cylinders reaching from floor to ceiling. "What is this ?" Dan asked nobody in particular. They went into the room. There was some writing on one of the huge gas tanks. "CO2" said Dan.

"Carbon Dioxide," said Tom.

"Why would they want big tanks of Carbon Dioxide ?" asked Aneisha. "What can you use that for ?"

"I'm not sure," said Tom. "It's mainly used to put out fires. I can't think what else they'd want it for."

"But you only get CO2 in tiny fire extinguishers," said Dan. "These tanks are huge !"

"They might try to flood the factory with Carbon Dioxide to put out a fire," said Frank. "It would be too dangerous where there are people, but in a robotic factory it would make perfect sense."

"Why is it dangerous ? Carbon Dioxide isn't poisonous, " said Aneisha.

"Carbon Dioxide is heavier than air," explained Tom. "It would fill up the room from the floor upwards and anyone standing on the floor would eventually be asphyxiated.

"Is that going to be a problem ?" asked Dan.

"No, not unless you start a fire," said Frank.

"OK, where next then ?" asked Dan. He glanced at Aneisha, but she seemed to be holding up pretty well.

"The room next door," said Tom. Dan dragged the heavy door open again and they went to the room next door. The door was once again heavy. Inside were the piles of smaller gas canisters.

"I can see you !" said Zoe's voice suddenly. "I can see you on the screen."

"That has to be the room," said Frank. "Find out what is in the gas cannisters," he ordered. Dan and Aneisha walked over to the cannisters. There was writing on the cannisters, but it was in a strange text.

"What is that ?" Dan asked.

"Tom, capture that image and send it to me," instructed Frank. Tom captured the still of the writing on the canister and sent it across to Frank. He could hear Frank in the background speaking to HQ.

Dan and Aneisha took the opportunity to take a rest, sitting on some canisters on the floor. They felt the floor starting to vibrate slightly and heard a distant rattling noise. The noise got louder and what sounded like a massive drum roll passed the door to the room they were in. The noise then got quieter and sounded like it was heading off down the corridor. Dan got up and pulled the door open slightly to have a look. He just caught sight of something round and black disappearing round the corner.

"What was it ?" asked Aneisha.

"I didn't get a proper look," said Dan. "Tom have you got any idea what that was ?" he asked.

"No, sorry. I'm still not into the CCTV," said Tom.

"OK. We know what is in the cannisters," said Frank. "It's Hydrogen Peroxide. Highly explosive." Aneisha quickly stood up and walked to the door beside Dan.

"Something just went down the corridor outside the door," reported Dan. "We don't know what it was."

"Oh, well … oh just a second," said Frank as his computer beeped at him. He went to look. "OK, Zoe, we have translations for your equipment instructions," he said. "Sending them to your Spy-pod."

Zoe pulled out her Spy-pod. She ran through the translations and went back to the screen showing Dan and Aneisha in the gas room. Following the instructions she flicked through a number of images from different parts of the factory. She paused on one showing a large black ball rolling down a corridor. "Hm, that's weird," said Zoe. "There's a big black ball shaped thing rolling down one of the corridors."

"Something rumbled past this room," said Dan. "I think we might have triggered something."

"I think you should get out of there team," said Frank. "You've found out enough information now."

"What do you want me to do ?" asked Zoe.

"Stay in the control room until the others get back to the factory," instructed Frank. "You're probably safest in there if there are automatic protection devices operating. Dan and Aneisha, head back to the factory floor. Rendezvous with Zoe and then leave by the loading bay. I'll organise a route out for you. I'll bring MI9 reinforcements."

"On it," said Dan. He looked back at the canisters of hydrogen peroxide. "Maybe a little insurance policy," he said, picking one up and taking it with him.

Dan and Aneisha were nervous as they made their way back towards the factory floor. Frank was busy organising an MI9 raiding party in the corner of the base so Tom quickly flicked up his game screen. One of his agents had met a maze guardian. He battled with his sword but his first agent was defeated and destroyed. He only had two agents left. He tried again with fire. This worked, the guardian was destroyed and the remaining two agents continued through the game. "Tom !" it was Dan's voice.

"What is it ?" Tom asked, quickly flicking off the game screen. He wasn't sure why, since Dan couldn't see what he was doing.

"Tom, we can hear something coming up somewhere behind us. Can you find out what it is ?" asked Dan. He sounded nervous.

"I'll try," said Tom. "Zoe, can you get a view of where the others are ?" he asked.

Zoe flicked through different screens until she found one showing Dan and Aneisha moving through the corridors. She thought Aneisha was moving more slowly than usual. Dan was looking all around him really nervously.


	5. Chapter 5

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?

_Zoe flicked through different screens until she found one showing Dan and Aneisha moving through the corridors. She thought Aneisha was moving more slowly than usual. Dan was looking all around him really nervously._

What was that in the distance behind Dan and Aneisha ? She could just make out a black ball shape coming towards them. "Dan, there's something coming behind you. It looks like that big black ball thing," she warned.

Dan and Aneisha looked back down the corridor. "Come on ! We've got to move," said Dan, pulling Aneisha with him. She was getting out of breath. He glanced at her injured arm and saw that the bandage was blood stained. It had to hurt as well. He needed to get her out of here fast. The black ball got larger and larger as it neared them. Dan pulled Aneisha round behind him and turned to face the object. Putting the canister he was carrying down on the floor, he pulled out a laser cutter from his bag. The ball suddenly stopped in front of them. Then the weirdest thing happened. It unrolled itself, revealing segments lined with black metal legs. More and more appeared until a long creature, rather like a millipede stood in front of them. The front had a sort of head with a single eye camera in the middle. The camera was focussed fixedly on Dan.

"Aneisha, start moving slowly away from me, and then start running," hissed Dan.

"I can't leave you here on your own !" she protested.

"You have to. You can't help me fight, and I need you to get a head start," said Dan calmly. "Get moving please !" he pleaded. Reluctantly Aneisha started moving slowly away from Dan, keeping him between herself and the beast's camera at all times. Once she had reached the end of the corridor she walked round the corner and started running as fast as she was able.

"Tom ! Tell me where to go. I've forgotten the route," she called.

Tom's voice came over her earpiece. "End of the corridor, turn right, then next left. That should get you to the factory floor," he instructed. "Good luck Aneisha."

Dan was still staring at the robotic millipede. Finally it stood up on some of its back legs. The front legs looked a lot like long curved knives. It lunged forward. Dan swept the laser cutter at it, ducking sideways. There was a clatter of metal as pieces of leg were sheared off by the cutter. A small piece grazed Dan's cheek. The millipede swayed to the side, making a strange screeching noise. It sounded like metal twisting together, but it could easily have been a scream of pain. Dan reminded himself that it was just a machine. It lunged again and he swiped the other way. Again, he cut off pieces of leg. The millipede slumped back down to the floor. Taking his chance, Dan grabbed the gas canister and ran as fast as he could.

The millipede was still for a moment and then started running. It's legs made the drumming noise on the floor that he and Aneisha had heard from the storage room. The front legs were partly missing and this seemed to be making it clumsy. Despite this, it could move as quickly as Dan. "Tom, get me out of here !" shouted Dan. Tom gave him the same instructions he had given Aneisha. "Aneisha, have you reached the stairs to the control room yet ?" called Dan.

"Not yet," she said, clearly out of breath.

"Hurry !" called Dan. "It's coming !" He glanced behind him, but the millipede was no further away from him. Desperately he crashed into the doors to the factory, pushing them open and hurling himself into the nearest alley between the machinery banks. In the distance he could see Aneisha running not very quickly towards the stairs. There was a bang as the doors crashed into the walls when the millipede came through. He saw Aneisha stop suddenly.

"Aneisha, why have you stopped ?" he called, breathlessly.

"There's another cyclops robot," she said despairingly. "It's got its cutting thingy out again." Dan panicked as he saw Aneisha turn and start running back towards him.

"No ! Aneisha, the other way !" he shouted. She ducked into a side corridor. He watched the cyclops moving after her. At least it wasn't as quick as the millipede. This was no good. "Tom ! Think of something, quick !" shouted Dan.

"Erm, Aneisha, you could try shining a light into the camera lens. Maximum intensity if possible," suggested Tom. They didn't hear Aneisha reply. She must be out of breath. Dan reached the end of the corridor where Aneisha had turned. He headed towards her. She was pointing a torch directly into the camera lens of the cyclops machine. It had stopped and was standing whirring, and waving it's cutting tool. "It's worked Tom. It's blinded. How do we kill it ?" asked Dan.

"Allow me," said Zoe's voice. "I've being playing with the instructions Frank gave me." As she spoke, a large grabbing arm swept down from the ceiling and grabbed hold of the cyclops robot. The grabber lifted the machine off the ground, but it slipped out of the grabber's grip and fell to the floor, where bits splintered off. The machine lay on its side, still whirring and waving its arm.

"Brilliant Zoe ! You did it," shouted Dan.

Aneisha looked up, horrified. "Dan ! Behind you !" she yelled. Dan spun around to find the millipede only feet away from him.

"Aneisha, get to the stairs !" he shouted as he jumped up on to the machinery beside him. He began running and jumping back the way he had come, running past the millipede. It spun itself around to follow him. Dan glanced over his shoulder to see Aneisha now running along the lanes, heading towards the stairs to the control room. She was hugging her arm to her chest. He had to keep the millipede busy until she got there.

Dan turned back to see where he was going a little too late and was hit by a robotic arm assembling some circuit boards. "Ow !" Dan yelled, nearly falling off the top of the machinery he was on. His left arm throbbed. Meanwhile, the millipede was catching up with him again. With greater determination he somersaulted off the machine, past the robotic arms and on to a conveyor belt. He landed as if he was on his skateboard, balancing as the conveyor swept him along. Glancing back quickly, he saw that he was now outpacing the millipede. Seeing that the conveyor was about to turn a corner and go up, he leapt off and rolled before running at right angles along another corridor. He was losing track of where he was going. He glanced up and realised he was now running directly away from the control room. He needed to get back in that direction. He needed more time.

Now running along the floor again, Dan was losing ground to the millipede. He looked back to see the thing only metres behind him again. Dan watched horrified as the front of the machine started to open. It was like a huge jaw opening. Inside were sawing teeth, rotating quickly. Again he was staring behind him for too long and he ran headlong into a metal machine. Dan fell to the floor, momentarily stunned. He twisted round and saw the millipede coming straight at him. With nothing left, he hurled the cannister of hydrogen peroxide into the mouth of the beast and rolled to one side as quickly as he could. There was an almighty Bang, and flames shot out in all directions. Dan rolled as fast as he could, covering his head with his arms. The heat was terrific.

"Dan ! Are you alright ?" shouted Zoe's voice in his ear.

"Yeah. I'm OK," he panted, hauling himself upright. He staggered into a run. The millipede was in flames behind him. An intermittent siren started to sound in the factory. "What's that ?" he gasped.

"There's a message on the screen here, but I don't know what it says," said Zoe sounding frustrated. "Tom, look at this and tell me what it says !" she ordered, sending Tom an image of the screen.

"OK, give me a sec," said Tom. He ran it through the Japanese translation facility that Frank had left him with. "It says 'Fire Alert'," said Tom. "Oh no ! The carbon dioxide gas. Dan, Aneisha you need to get up high quickly !" warned Tom. "They're going to flood the room with carbon dioxide."

"I've reached the stairs," said Aneisha's exhausted voice. "I'll climb up to the control room. Help Dan."

Dan looked to where the control room was. It was a long way to run. His arm was killing him. He ran at top speed towards the doors to the stairs, having to run in a zig zag through the different alleyways between the factory machinery. He was starting to get out of breath. After only a minute he was struggling to breathe and started coughing.

"Dan, you need to get up higher," shouted Tom. "The carbon dioxide is heavier than air, remember."


	6. Chapter 6

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?

_Dan was starting to get out of breath. After only a minute he was struggling to breathe and started coughing._

"_Dan, you need to get up higher," shouted Tom. "The carbon dioxide is heavier than air, remember."_

Feeling dizzy and dopey, Dan climbed clumsily up on to some machinery at his side. He stopped, gasping for breath for a minute, before he was able to stand up again. "That's better," he said. He started leaping between machines, until he ran out of things to jump onto. He was going to have to cover the last 100 metres or so at ground level. Could he run and hold his breath for that long ? He was just about to make a leap and run for it when something grabbed him from behind. It pushed the backpack up to the back of his head and pressed around his rib cage, picking him up off the machinery. It was the grabber that Zoe had used to pick up the cyclops. "Urgh !" gasped Dan.

"Sorry Dan. I should have warned you," said Zoe's voice in his ear. "I've pressed it as hard as I dare. I don't want to drop you, like I did with the robot !" She sounded apologetic. The grabber's claws were digging into his ribs and it was hard to breathe as his chest was pressed hard against it. Dan didn't answer. He was putting all of his energy into trying to breathe. His head spun as he watched the floor dropping away beneath him. "I'll take you as high as I can," said Zoe. "I don't know how much carbon dioxide they're going to put in."

"Zoe ! Oh my … what are you doing ?" asked Aneisha's exhausted voice.

"I've lifted Dan up from the floor to keep him away from the carbon dioxide," said Zoe.

"Great idea Zoe," said Aneisha. "He doesn't look too happy though," she said as Zoe swung Dan closer to the control room window. He dangled in the grabber's hand. His face was strained and they could see that he was struggling to breathe. "Can you slacken it's grip a little bit Zoe ?" asked Aneisha

"I don't know ! The last time I did that, I dropped the thing I was holding," said Zoe, sounding distressed. The two girls watched Dan struggling to breathe properly, unable to help him. "Tom ! Is Frank nearly here yet ?" asked Zoe. She sounded as if she was ready to cry.

Tom was watching in horror the picture that Aneisha was sending back from her head camera of Dan dangling in the grabber's hand. "I don't know. I'll find out," he promised.

He called Frank on his phone. "Frank, they're in big trouble ! The factory has been flooded with carbon dioxide. Dan is trapped out in the factory. Zoe has him lifted up in some crane type thing, but he can't breathe properly." Tom explained quickly.

"Alright Tom. We're just arriving," said Frank. "Give me your frequency. We'll use the same one." Tom gave Frank the frequency and next thing he could hear the MI9 SWAT team in communication. "Tom we need you to turn off the electricity to the fence again please," said Frank. Tom did as he was asked, giving them longer this time.

"The factory is full of carbon dioxide Frank," warned Tom. "You'll need breathing apparatus."

"Understood," said Frank's voice, sounding as though he were running.

Inside the factory, Zoe and Aneisha heard the sound of explosions from the loading bay. There was smoke and doors at the end of the factory floor blew inwards, falling from their hinges. A stream of MI9 agents dressed in black and wearing breathing equipment ran into the factory. Some pointed up to Dan, dangling from the grabber.

Frank's muffled voice came over the earpieces. "Zoe. Lower Dan to the ground slowly. The first aiders are coming with oxygen," he instructed. As carefully as she could, Zoe lowered Dan to the factory floor, with Aneisha giving her directions once he neared the floor.

"OK, let go now," said Aneisha, as she saw two agents taking Dan's legs from below. They lowered him to the floor and put a mask over his face. As they bent over him, she couldn't see what they were doing. "They've got him Zoe," she said as Zoe ran over to look out of the window beside her.

"Oh please ! Please !" Zoe begged under her breath.

Aneisha was exhausted. She sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Frank ! Aneisha needs help too. Her arm is bleeding," Zoe reported.

"Someone is coming up to the control room," promised Frank.

Frank walked with his MI9 team through the factory. The smoking wreck of the giant robotic millipede lay on the floor in the middle of the room. There was a sound of drumming from the far end of the factory. Another two of the giant millipedes came through the doors at the end of the room. Seeing the scale and ferocity of the working robots, Frank had to feel some respect for Dan managing to destroy one on his own. He heard shouts and electrical discharges over to his right as some of his people were attacked by one of the cyclops robots. "We got it sir," he heard an agent say over his earpiece.

"Where is Agent Morgan ?" asked Frank. An agent stood and waved to him from over to his left, before bending down again. "Alright, everyone, I need you to move ahead of Agent Morgan's position before we tackle these defensive robots," he instructed. All of the agents jogged forward beyond where Dan was being helped. "Split into two groups," ordered Frank. The agents divided into two groups and everyone pulled out various weapons. Some of the agents jumped up on to the machinery to try to get an advantage over the creatures. The millipede approaching Frank's group stopped and reared up on its hind legs. It's mouth opened to reveal the rotating saw teeth. Frank crouched ready with his lazer cutter. Before the millipede could attack, something swept over Frank's head. He felt the draught before he saw what it was. It was the huge grabbing arm sweeping across the factory. Zoe !

The heavy metal arm smashed into the millipede, shattering the metal front and the camera eye, before swinging past. There was a sound of screeching metal as the millipede robot thrashed in apparent agony. It was only a machine, Frank had to remind himself. He looked up in time to see the metal grabber swinging back towards them. "Get out of the way !" Frank shouted, pointing up in the air. Everyone realised the danger and leapt out of the way behind equipment and into side alleys. The grabber smashed into the remainder of the robot, smashing off more parts and leaving the remainder shivering and spitting sparks on the floor.

"Zoe can you get the other one ?" Frank asked.

"I'll try," she promised. He watched the grabber sweeping sideways across the factory and hit the other millipede crosswise. Again it left the robot sweeping around uncontrollably. Her second hit failed to finish it off, but the third one did. "I think that's all of them," said Zoe.

"Well done Zoe," said Frank. "Has someone arrived to help Aneisha yet ?" he asked.

"Yes, they're here now," said Zoe.

Dan sat on the factory floor, leaning against the machinery and wearing an oxygen mask. He had a throbbing head and his chest was killing him. Two masked agents were leaning over him. They had taken off his backpack and tossed it to one side. Looking down Dan realised his jacket and shirt had been opened up. He could see the marks where the grabber had dug into his ribs. Big bruises were forming. He wanted to get up, but felt exhausted. He pulled his shirt back across his chest.

"Zoe ?" he said hoarsely.

"Dan ! You're alright !" she almost cried out in relief.

"Yeah," he managed. Someone took off his earpiece and headset. This was annoying. It wasn't like he was injured or anything.

Frank came over to check on him. Dan tried to tell him he was fine and didn't need any first aid, but Frank didn't hear him because Dan's headset had gone. When Dan tried to get up, Frank pushed him back down by his shoulder.

Twenty minutes later, Aneisha was sitting in an MI9 ambulance, her arm strapped up on her lap. Lying on the stretcher opposite her was Dan, still with a breathing mask on his face. His bloodshot eyes were wide open. She smiled reassuringly at him.

"You OK ?" he said hoarsely.

"I'm fine Dan," she said gently. She reached across with her good hand and squeezed his arm. "You did really well Dan. Frank's really pleased."

"I don't know why I'm here," said Dan. "I tried to tell them, but they made me come," he said, coughing slightly.

"Have you seen the state of your ribcage ?" asked Aneisha. "You might have some broken ribs."

Dan made an exasperated expression, but slumped back against his pillows in resignation.


	7. Chapter 7

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ?

"_I don't know why I'm here," said Dan. "I tried to tell them, but they made me come," he said, coughing slightly._

"_Have you seen the state of your ribcage ?" asked Aneisha. "You might have some broken ribs."_

_Dan made an exasperated expression, but slumped back against his pillows in resignation._

It was the early hours of the morning when Frank called into Dan's room to check up on him. Dan lay in bed looking tired. He shifted slightly and winced when Frank came in. "Where's Aneisha ?" asked Dan.

"She's been sent home," said Frank.

"Can I go now ?" asked Dan.

Frank looked at him and smiled. "Dan, you need to stay in overnight for observation." Dan looked at him disbelievingly.

"But my ribs aren't broken are they ?" he asked.

"Amazingly no," said Frank. "The doctors want to keep an eye on you, just to be on the safe side."

Dan huffed in frustration. He was tired, but felt too agitated to sleep.

"Do you think there were any more robots at that factory ?" Dan asked Frank.

"We've searched the whole building and we didn't find any more," said Frank. "There were only the construction robots. It appears there were only the three millipedes and they were all destroyed."

Dan stared straight ahead, looking haunted. Frank wondered what he was thinking about. "Why don't you get some rest Dan ?" he asked gently.

"I can't sleep," said Dan. "I've just got this feeling, it's not over yet. Do you know what I mean ?" he asked Frank. Frank looked at Dan's tense shoulders and the fingers picking at the bed covers. He quietly left the room for a couple of minutes. When he returned Dan didn't seem to have noticed his absence.

A nurse came in carrying a small tray. "Having trouble sleeping ?" she asked Dan. He glanced round at her in surprise.

"Oh, yes. I suppose so," he said, distractedly.

The nurse produced a syringe and injected his arm. "That should help," she said. Dan looked startled. Then after a minute his eyes began to droop. The nurse lowered his bed head and pulled the blankets over him as he fell asleep. "And how about you " she asked Frank.

"Hm ? Oh I'm going home," said Frank. He heaved himself off the chair, picked up Dan's mission backpack and headed off to his own bed. Frank's home was an apartment at the back of the team's base. He dropped Dan's backpack under a bench at the side and went through the shadows to his own suite of rooms. Deep inside Dan's backpack, a tiny green light flashed once. In the car park of the KORPS factory some distance away, a four-wheel drive vehicle started into life. It hummed gently and then started to roll across the car park and out of the door. The MI9 guards walked towards the car in curiosity. Bolts of electrical discharge shot out of the car and hit both guards, knocking them unconscious. The car left the site and drove off down the road.

The next day started like any other. At least, as far as St. Heart's was concerned it did. Dan was collected by his foster mother and driven home to get ready for school. He had a doctor's certificate excusing him from PE for two weeks. Dan pretended to be annoyed at his foster mother fussing over him, but in truth he rather enjoyed the attention. He certainly wouldn't have let anyone else behave like that towards him. Dan did genuinely care for his foster parents. They went to a lot of trouble to look after him and he appreciated their kindness.

He sat on the bottom step of the stairs trying to tie his shoe laces. Bending over made his ribs hurt like hell. His Mum came up to him and said, "Would you like me to help you ?" He sat back up and nodded. She knelt down and did up his laces for him.

"Thanks Mum," he said.

"Don't worry ! It won't be for long," she said, smiling gently at him. "You'll be racing around being your old self in no time," she added, and kissed him on the forehead.

"Mum !" he complained, but with half a smile on his face.

Dan presented his certificate and letter at registration. Mr. McNab sighed and read it in resignation. He'd become used to Dan's many certificates and letters of sickness, injury and absence. He had decided that Dan had to be the most accident prone teen in history. Still, at least he moved about a bit, which was more than could be said for many boys his age. He was more surprised when Aneisha turned up with a bandaged arm and another letter excusing her from PE. "My God, what have you all been doing ?" asked Mr. McNab. "Surely you can get between school and home and back without killing yourselves !"

Dan smiled at Aneisha as she sat in her seat. "You alright ?" they both asked each other simultaneously, and then laughed.

Tom looked a little subdued when he came in, as did Zoe. Dan looked up at them both. "Hey, what's with the long faces you two ? You both did brilliantly yesterday," he said quietly.

"But I hurt you !" Zoe whispered, looking upset.

"No ! You saved my life," said Dan. "Me and Aneisha and probably half of Frank's MI9 SWAT team," he added. Zoe didn't look too convinced. He glanced round to make sure nobody was watching and he reached out and squeezed Zoe's hand. "You were amazing !" he whispered. Finally Zoe smiled.

After a quick lunch, the team headed for the janitor's cupboard. Frank looked pleased to see them and congratulated them on successfully completing their mission. Aneisha and Zoe went to look at the pictures from the factory after MI9 had been decommissioning it. Dan decided to find out what was eating Tom. He hadn't said a word since they'd come downstairs.

"Hey Tom ! What's the matter ?" asked Dan.

Tom looked up from his computer screen and flinched slightly. He took a deep breath and seemed to be psyching himself up to say something. "It's just, I'm really, really sorry," he blurted out.

"What for ?" asked Dan, baffled. He pulled up a chair next to Tom's desk and sat down. His ribs were hurting anyway.

Tom looked round at the others chatting on the far side of the room. He looked guilty. "The thing is, what Frank doesn't know was that while you were on the mission, I was, well, playing this game at the same time," he finally admitted. Tom looked down at his shoes miserably.

"You do that all the time don't you ?" asked Dan, wondering what the fuss was about.

"Do I ? Erm, yes I suppose I do. Well, the thing is, this game was so like the mission that I kind of got muddled up. I sent you down to the wrong place looking for those gas canisters because I had the map from the game on the screen instead of the factory. They were almost identical and I forgot which one I was looking at," admitted Tom. He glanced up at Dan, who he was expecting to be angry. Instead Dan looked thoughtful.

"Identical ?" he asked.

"Pretty much," said Tom.

"Can I have a look ?" asked Dan.

Tom was surprised. Dan never showed any interest in his games. Shrugging he pulled up the game screen. Dan looked closely at it. "Hm, and where are the factory plans ?" he asked. Tom pulled them up in a separate window. Dan looked from one to the other. "You're right. They're almost exactly the same," he said. "So who designs these games then ?" asked Dan.

Tom looked completely taken aback. "Well, different people. These free ones on the net are usually made by people as a kind of hobby," he said. "Why ?"

"Well, do you think the same person might have laid out the factory ?" asked Dan.

Tom looked at Dan and a huge grin spread across his face. "I don't know. I'll find out," he promised.


	8. Chapter 8

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ? It's not over yet.

"_So who designs these games then ?" asked Dan._

_Tom looked completely taken aback. "Well, different people. These free ones on the net are usually made by people as a kind of hobby," he said. "Why ?"_

"_Well, do you think the same person might have laid out the factory ?" asked Dan._

_Tom looked at Dan and a huge grin spread across his face. "I don't know. I'll find out," he promised._

Frank came over to Tom's desk with Aneisha and Zoe. "Oh, there was one strange thing," Frank said. "Last night two of the security guards at the factory were knocked out. They said a big four wheel drive car attacked them on its way out of the factory."

"That's weird," said Aneisha. "Do you think one of the KORPS people was trying to escape ?" she asked.

"Maybe it was another robot," suggested Zoe. "Where would it go ?" she asked.

Frank shrugged. "We've got no idea. The cameras at the gate caught the registration so we've got an 'all points' search out for it. It hasn't been seen," he said.

"Maybe its gone home to KORPS," suggested Aneisha.

A buzzing noise sounded in the room. "OK team, you'd better get back to classes. I've got to unpack some toilet rolls," said Frank. Life as a spy could be pretty glamorous at times. This just wasn't one of those times.

At the end of the school day, Dan leaned back carefully in his chair. He's been sitting bolt upright all day and his back was aching. It now didn't hurt any more to lean on his bruises than it did to stay off them. The class was gradually filing out. Roly had gone. He always moved like greased lightning at the end of the day. It always amazed Dan how Roly speeded up at the prospect of getting out of school. Melissa seemed to be trying to attract his attention as she dawdled out of the room, so Dan struck up a conversation with Aneisha in an effort to avoid making eye contact with Melissa. Aneisha wasn't fooled and grinned back at him.

"You'll have to speak to her eventually," she whispered to him. "You've got to admit, she's persistent." Dan had to agree that persistence was something Melissa wasn't short of.

"Dan ?" said Melissa.

"Oh, hey Melissa. I didn't notice you there," lied Dan.

"I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight ?" asked Melissa.

Dan tried desperately to think of something he could feasibly be doing that night. "Erm, yeah, I'm working on a project with Tom tonight. There's a new game we're trying out. I promised, sorry," said Dan. Melissa looked disappointed.

"Oh, that's a shame. There's an under 18's disco at the town hall tonight. I thought you might like to go," she said, still hopefully.

"Oh, I don't think I could manage a disco right now. Got a bit of bruising on my ribs," said Dan, truthfully for once. "Thanks for the offer. Bye !" he said, shooting out of his seat and heading after Tom.

"Tom, are you going to look at that game ?" asked Dan.

"Yeah, are you really going to come and look at it ?" asked Tom, surprised.

"Well, not really, sorry," whispered Dan. "I had to get Melissa off my back somehow !" he hissed. "If you don't mind Tom, I'm a bit tired. I was going to head home once the coast was clear. I would really like to know if you come up with a name on that game though. It could be a lead into KORPS," he added.

Tom nodded. He could see the strain on Dan's face and guessed his bruised ribs must have been killing him all day. "I'll let you know as soon as I find anything," said Tom.

"Thanks," said Dan.

Tom headed on down to the basement. Dan looked round for Melissa and then headed out into the school yard. Aneisha was chatting to Zoe. "Aneisha, how is your arm now ?" asked Dan.

"It's OK," said Aneisha. "The doctor told me not to do anything with it for a couple of days and it would soon heal up," she said. "How about you ?" she asked.

Dan shrugged. "To be honest, it's pretty sore," he finally admitted. "I couldn't face sitting around at home for a couple of days though. I'd rather take my mind off it." He regretted admitting to this as soon as he saw Zoe's face. She obviously still felt guilty about it. "It's fine though. I'm OK with it," he said, trying to sound more positive. Aneisha looked at him in sympathy. She knew he was trying to make Zoe feel better about herself.

"Come on. We can walk part way home together," suggested Aneisha. They agreed and set off at a slow pace out of the yard and down the road. Nearly all the other students had gone and they were the only group in school uniform walking down the road together. When they came to the first road junction, Aneisha had to leave the others. They looked round for traffic, but the only car around was a large, black four wheel drive with blackened windows coming slowly up the street. Dan and Zoe waved off Aneisha as she crossed and then they carried on down the road.

Dan and Zoe cut through the local park together, chatting all the while. Zoe had a curfew so they couldn't hang around too long. They said goodbye at the other park entrance and Zoe headed off towards her MI9 orphanage. Dan noticed a large, black four wheel drive parked at the side of the road outside the park entrance. It looked familiar. He pulled out his phone and called Frank. "Frank, did you say it was a four wheel drive that left the KORPS factory last night ?" he asked.

"Yes, why ?" asked Frank.

"I keep seeing this car," said Dan.

"Can you take a picture with your spy-pod ?" asked Frank.

Dan groaned. "No ! It's still inside my backpack from the mission," said Dan. "I can take a photo with my phone," he offered.

"OK, do that and send it to me," instructed Frank. "I won't receive it for a few minutes though, OK ?"

"Yeah, sure," said Dan, taking a photo of the car front with his phone camera. There didn't seem to be anyone inside it. He was probably just over-reacting. He sent the picture and stuffed the phone back inside his school bag before strolling on past the car. Dan was some way down the road when he heard the sound of a car engine starting. He didn't think anything of if. If he had glanced over his shoulder he would have seen the black car reversing down the road behind him, skimming alongside the kerb without touching it. The rear door swung open silently.

Dan heard a car approaching from behind, on the wrong side of the road and turned round in curiosity. Eyes wide with fear he got ready to leap out of the way of the wide open door when something reached out of the car, grabbed him and swiftly pulled him inside. The sound of his yelp of pain was cut off by the door slamming shut. The car stopped, paused and then pulled out on to the road, setting off in the opposite direction.

Five minutes later Dan's phone started ringing. It was Frank, to tell Dan that this was the same car which had left the KORPS factory the night before. Dan had already worked this out.

In the basement, Frank gave up trying to get through to Dan. Worried, he turned to Tom who was working at his computer. "Tom, could you trace Dan's phone for me please ?" he asked. "I can't get through to him."

Tom looked surprised, but did as he was asked. "There it is," he said showing a dot moving in a jolting fashion down a road on a map of the town.

"He's inside a car !" said Frank.

"Oh, yes, he must be," agreed Tom, still wondering what Frank was getting at. "He must have got a lift home," said Tom.

"Not in the opposite direction to where he lives !" said Frank.

Tom turned to the screen, suddenly realising why Frank was so worried. "Oh, no !" said Tom. Then both Tom and Frank shouted as the dot showing Dan's phone disappeared from the screen completely.


	9. Chapter 9

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ? I keep forgetting to say that I don't own any of the MI High characters. I'm just borrowing them.

_Tom turned to the screen, suddenly realising why Frank was so worried. "Oh, no !" said Tom. Then both Tom and Frank shouted out as the dot showing Dan's phone disappeared from the screen completely._

"Frank ! What are we going to do ?" asked Tom in a panic. He stared up at Frank hoping he could sort out this disaster.

Frank stood with his mouth opening and closing for a few seconds. Then he seemed to come back to life. "I'm going to call up HQ and get a full scale search organised for that car," he said determinedly. "We know it's last position at least." Frank walked over to the other side of the room to make the call.

Tom stared at his computer screen, wondering what to do. He had to do something. Frustratedly he closed the screen with the useless phone tracker. He pulled up the screen where he had been trying to find the anonymous designer of the computer game. Maybe he could come at this from another angle. Maybe if he could find the designer of the game, he could find the designer of the robots and then maybe, just maybe, find Dan. What was going to work ? How about good, old-fashioned flattery. No computer whizz-kid could resist it. Tom smiled grimly to himself and got to work.

Dan was not in a comfortable position. His head hurt because he'd banged it on the car floor when he was flung inside. His arms hurt because they were pinned behind his back in a vice-like grip. His ribs were killing him because he was pressed hard against the metal floor of the vehicle. Breathing was hard due to the pressure and the pain of his bruised ribs and the air was stuffy. He hoped they would reach their destination soon. His bag had laid beside him for a while. His phone had been ringing until something or someone picked up the bag and took it away. His phone had now stopped ringing.

Dan couldn't remember what happened next. Something touched the back of his neck. He woke up sitting in a chair. His jacket and tie were gone and his shirt sleeves were rolled up. His arms were pinned to the arms of the chair by metal straps. His legs were tied and his waist was strapped to the chair back. He tried to rock the chair but it seemed to be bolted to the floor. The room was dark except for the glow of a large television or computer screen in front of him. He tried to look round behind him, but everything was in darkness.

"Who are you ?" asked a voice through a speaker.

"Who are you ?" asked Dan, hoarsely, then coughing.

The screen in front flickered over to a picture. It was a view of Dan staring in fear and desperation. He was holding a metal canister as if about to throw it. It must have been the millipede's view of him from inside the KORPS factory, just before he destroyed it.

"This is you," said the voice. "100% match," it added.

"Well, why are you asking me then ?" asked Dan. This was too creepy for words. Why didn't this person just walk up to him and ask the questions ?

"You broke my robot," said the voice.

"Well, it did try to kill me first," pointed out Dan. Then he realised the significance of what the disembodied voice had just said. "Wait, did you make all those robots in the factory ?" asked Dan.

"Not all of them. The ordinary ones making the equipment were not mine. The others were mine," said the voice. They didn't sound either proud or boastful when they said this: just matter of fact. "Who are you ?" asked the voice again. Dan said nothing. "Your school books have a name on. They say you are Daniel Morgan," said the voice.

"Well then, you don't need to ask me do you !" said Dan.

"Are you Daniel Morgan ?" asked the voice.

"OK, OK ! I am Daniel Morgan. Are you happy now ?" shouted Dan. He pulled at the metal straps tying him to the chair, but couldn't make them move. This had to be the weirdest interrogation he had ever been in.

"Who do you work for ?" asked the voice. This time Dan clamped his jaws shut. "Do you work for the government ?" asked the voice.

"Do you work for KORPS ?" asked Dan, sarcastically.

There was a pause, then the voice said, "No. I do not work for KORPS. They asked me to make robots. I make robots."

"Well I don't think much of your choice of customer," said Dan.

"It doesn't matter," said the voice. "I make robots."

Dan was getting more and more puzzled by the mystery voice. "You haven't told me who you are," he prompted hopefully.

"No. You do not need to know," said the voice. "I want to know who you work for."

"Well, I'm not telling you," said Dan.

"You will tell me," said the voice. "I want to know."

"No, I won't tell you, because it's none of your business," said Dan.

"I want to know !" shouted the voice. It sounded more petulant than evil. Dan wondered who he was talking to. They didn't sound like a KORPS villain. They sounded more like Tom, but without the social skills. "You will tell me !"

Dan heard a whirring noise behind him, followed by a series of clicks and taps. He sensed something coming up close behind him, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. The chair he was sitting in tilted backwards. Metal arms came round his body and grasped his forearms. Icy cold hands seemed to wrap around his head, holding it still. A screen appeared in front of his eyes and it started to show strange swirly patterns. He wanted to look away because they were making him feel dizzy, but he couldn't move his head. The last thing he noticed was a needle piercing his arm and something cold being injected. Then he was lost in a dizzying mass of colours and questions.

Tom had been sitting at his computer for ages when his phone rang. It was his Mum asking him where he was and when he was coming home. It was late. "Sorry Mum, I sort of got carried away doing something," said Tom. "I'm on my way home now," he promised. He had been sending out emails and posting dozens of messages on blogs and social networking sites in an effort to track down the creator of the robotic maze game. There had been a couple of replies from friends who thought they had clues to the designer, but he wasn't very much closer to finding them. He had also posted up a couple of reviews on different sites saying what a great game it was and how he would love to make contact with the designer.

Frank came over. "Tom you should go home now. What are you doing ?" he asked. Tom explained and Frank was impressed. "That's a good idea Tom," he praised.

"Yeah. It was Dan's," said Tom, suddenly reminded of why he was trying to track the game developer.

"Go home Tom. Come back tomorrow and we'll carry on. I've got a search out for the car. I've told Dan's foster parents we're looking for him. They're worried, but they know how these things happen. Hopefully you'll have some replies to your messages when you get back tomorrow," said Frank.

Reluctantly Tom went home. He didn't usually get worried about his team mates when they were on missions, but for some reason, Dan's disappearance on his way home had upset him. It wasn't supposed to happen. Maybe that was why. It wasn't in the rules of the game.

Back at base Frank sat looking at Dan's photograph of the black four wheel drive with the blackened windows. It suddenly looked more sinister. He could see the reflection of Dan taking the photograph in the car's paintwork. Sighing, Frank set up alarms to wake him if there were any messages coming in and he headed off for a restless night.


	10. Chapter 10

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ? I don't own any of the MI High characters. I'm just borrowing them. Thanks to all the reviewers.

_Back at base Frank sat looking at Dan's photograph of the black four wheel drive with the blackened windows. It suddenly looked more sinister. He could see the reflection of Dan taking the photograph in the car's paintwork. Sighing, Frank set up alarms to wake him if there were any messages coming in and he headed off for a restless night._

Zoe, Aneisha and Tom got a call from Frank asking them to get into school early and meet him in the basement. Tom had set his alarm early in any case hoping that he would get a lead on the game designer. Frank briefed Zoe and Aneisha on Dan's disappearance. "HQ found some CCTV footage showing the last known position of the car," he explained. "It was heading into a small industrial estate on the outskirts of town. Tom has been trying to track down the designer of a game he found which bears remarkable similarities to your last mission. Tom have you had any replies ?" asked Frank.

Tom had been running through the huge list of responses he had received overnight. Most were either simply agreeing with him, or denying knowledge of the designer. "There's one," he said. "Listen to this ! It says 'I don't really write games. It was just for fun. I make robots. Play it if you like.'"

"That's kind of weird," said Aneisha. "You should reply. Why don't you ask if you can meet them ?"

"OK. I'll try, but they don't sound very sociable," said Tom. He typed in a reply. He put, 'OK I will. I do really like it. You're a really good game designer. I love robots too. Can I meet you ? Tom.'

"Were there any other suggestions ?" asked Aneisha, trying to scan some of the messages on Tom's email.

"No. A couple of people pointed to some other games which have the same tag against them. Whoever this person is, they've written quite a lot of stuff on the net," said Tom.

His email pinged with a new message. It was a reply to his email. Tom read it and his jaw dropped. The message read, 'Are you Tom Tupper ?' Tom looked to Frank. "What shall I say ?" he asked. "How do they know my name ?"

Frank sighed and said, "Dan."

"Oh," said Tom. "Then, they probably know everything about us don't they ?" he asked. "What shall I say ?"

Frank threw his hands in the air. "You may as well tell them the truth. We need to get Dan back," he said.

Tom quickly started typing. 'Yes, I am Tom Tupper. You must have met my friend Dan. I would like to see your robots. Can I see them please ? I didn't get to go to the factory.' He looked round at Frank, who nodded his approval. Tom sent the email.

All three of them huddled around Tom's computer, hoping and praying for a reply. They didn't have many options. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes a message appeared. It read, 'Alright. You can come, but not the other two. We can play a game.' Then it gave an address. Frank quickly checked the address.

"It's an office building on that industrial estate where the car vanished," said Frank. "I'd better call in a SWAT team," he added, reaching for his mobile.

"Frank, no !" said Zoe. "We don't have any idea what's happened to Dan. This person sounds really strange. Why can't Tom go there ?" she asked, pleadingly.

"Tom would have to go on his own. It's too dangerous," said Frank. "Those robots were killers. I can't afford to lose another agent," he said.

"But we haven't lost Dan yet," said Tom. "I don't mind going. I might be able to talk this person round. We like lots of the same sort of stuff don't we ?"

Frank thought about this. "Well, alright, but I'm going to set a time limit. If you can't get through to this person, I'm sending in the SWAT team, alright ?" he said. Tom nodded. He took a deep breath. This was going to be seriously scary.

An hour later, Tom was standing outside an office building on a small industrial estate. Frank had dropped him off from an MI9 van and left. Tom was hugely nervous. The only thing that was keeping him to plan was his concern for Dan. Also he was wearing video contact lenses and a microphone. Frank and the others were going to be listening in to everything that happened. If Tom wanted help, he just had to use the code phrase, which was 'Double Jalapeno Peppers'.

The door into the building opened. There was nobody behind it, and Tom walked rather hesitantly towards it. As he stepped through the door it closed behind him. He was standing in an empty corridor. Another door ahead of him opened. "Hello !" called Tom. "Is anyone there ?" Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he walked through the second door. The door closed again, leaving him standing at the bottom of a flight of stairs. "Up here ?" shouted Tom. There was no answer, so he climbed the stairs.

Tom wondered how long this was going to go on for. Another door was open at the top of the stairs. He walked through and gasped. The darkened room he was standing in was kitted out with every imaginable type of computer and electronic equipment. Lights flickered and flashed. Racks of equipment hummed and whirred and there were banks of screens placed around the outer edges of the room. There weren't any chairs. This was Tom's idea of heaven. "Wow !" he said.

"Do you like my lab ?" asked a voice. Tom turned round, trying to see who was speaking. Finally he made out a figure, sitting in the corner of the room. "Well, yes, it's amazing," replied Tom, truthfully. There was a humming noise as the figure glided towards him. Belatedly he realised they were sitting in an electric wheelchair. As they moved into the light, he realised that the boy in the chair was about the same age as himself and Dan. He was probably the same height as Tom, but his arms and legs were very thin and his face was very thin. "I'm Tom," said Tom, holding out his hand.

The boy in the chair lifted up his hand and put his fingers into Tom's. "I'm Nate," he said. "I make robots."

"Why ?" asked Tom.

"Because they do things for me," said Nate. "And because they're cool."

"Do you live here ?" asked Tom, curiously.

"Yes," said Nate. "Do you want to see my robots ?"

"Yes please," said Tom. Nate took his chair towards a door at the far side of the lab and it opened automatically. The lights in the corridor came on automatically and followed them as they travelled along. Finally Nate lead him through a set of double doors into a large room with a high ceiling. Tom gasped as he looked round. There were two or three large construction robots, like the kind you would see in a car factory and piles of parts and components. One of the robots was working on something, picking up pieces and welding things together. A smaller black cube robot like the cyclops robots from the KORPS factory rolled past them, carrying some pieces of metal.

"This is fantastic ! How did you get started ?" asked Tom. He was wondering how someone with Nate's condition would be able to construct all of this.

"Well, I was stronger when I was younger. I started making my own robots. Then when I couldn't do as much, I started programming the robots to make more things. Then I made robots which could help to look after me," explained Nate. "Now I don't need anyone. My robots look after me."

"Don't you get lonely ?" asked Tom.

"No. I like it like this," said Nate.

"Why did you make robots for KORPS ?" asked Tom. "They're criminals you know."

"Does it matter ?" asked Nate, sounding surprised. "They paid me to make cool stuff. I like making things."

"But they hurt people," said Tom.

"I don't know them," said Nate simply.


	11. Chapter 11

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ? I don't own any of the MI High characters. I'm just borrowing them.

"_Why did you make robots for KORPS ?" asked Tom. "They're criminals you know."_

"_Does it matter ?" asked Nate, sounding surprised. "They paid me to make cool stuff. I like making things."_

"_But they hurt people," said Tom._

"_I don't know them," said Nate simply._

Tom was shocked. It was as though Nate didn't feel anything for other people getting hurt. "They're still people though, even if you don't know them," said Tom. "They feel pain, just like you." He paused, thinking about what Nate had said to him. "Why do you like robots so much ?" asked Tom, thinking he might know the answer already.

"They're not as complicated as people. People get upset. I don't understand them. Robots just do what you tell them to do," explained Nate.

"You're really clever," said Tom, looking round at the amazing robotics working in Nate's building. "Have you ever been told you might be a bit, well, autistic ?" he asked.

"That's what people call it isn't it ?" said Nate. He didn't sound upset at what Tom was suggesting. "I think I meet the criteria."

Tom nodded. "I think so too. You would be brilliant working for MI9 you know. Would you like me to ask our bosses if you could do that ?" he asked. "You could carry on making robots."

Nate thought about this. "OK. I'll think about it."

"Could I see my friend Dan please ?" asked Tom

"OK. He's asleep," said Nate, turning towards the door.

Tom took a deep breath and crossed his fingers. Nate lead him to another room with a bed in it. Dan was in the bed, tucked up in the blankets, apparently fast asleep. Tom felt his pulse, but Dan didn't wake up. The pulse was slow and steady and Tom breathed a huge sigh of relief. "What did you do Nate ?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. "Why is he still asleep ?"

"Not sure why," said Nate, casually. "I used the truth drug that KORPS gave me and I added my own disorientation technique. I wanted him to tell me who he worked for and he wouldn't. He seemed a bit sad," he said, vaguely.

Tom realised that Dan must have been frightened and angry, but Nate would probably not have been able to tell this. "What kind of truth drug did you use Nate ?" asked Tom.

Nate shrugged. "No idea. KORPS gave it to me. I asked them for some in case I needed it. They wanted me to make robots for them, so they gave me anything I asked for," explained Nate.

"I think Dan needs to go to a hospital Nate. Can I call for an ambulance to get him please ?" asked Tom.

"No, I don't want anyone coming into my building," said Nate. He seemed to be getting agitated at the thought of people coming into his home.

"Oh, well, could we get Dan out of the building first then ?" asked Tom. "I don't want to mess up your home," he tried to reassure Nate. This seemed to work and Nate immediately calmed down.

"I like things the same," said Nate. "I'll get one of the robots to carry him out if you want," he offered.

"Yes, thanks, that would be great," said Tom, relieved. "I would like to have that game Nate, but maybe not just now. I need to help Dan."

"He's your friend isn't he ?" asked Nate, sounding a little wistful. "He told me you were his friend. He said you were clever and you liked to play games. I don't have a friend. Could you be my friend ?" he suddenly asked.

"Yeah, OK. That would be great," said Tom. "It would be better if you didn't work for KORPS though. They're really evil."

"Oh, alright. Maybe I can work for MI9 then," said Nate.

Nate used a control device on his wheelchair to call the most amazing robot Tom had ever seen. A tall humanoid machine walked into the room on long metal feet. It plodded slowly up to the bed, pulled off the blankets and very gently picked up Dan in its arms. Then it turned and carried the sleeping teen from the room, down the stairs and out of the building. Tom quickly grabbed Dan's jacket, tie and school bag from the floor.

Tom wasn't surprised to see an MI9 ambulance waiting outside the building when they came out of the door. Two paramedics stood waiting with a stretcher on the footpath. The robot walked slowly up to the stretcher and ever so gently placed Dan down on it. It then picked up a blanket and placed it over the sleeping boy's body. Tom watched and wondered if this was one of the robots Nate had built to look after him. The two paramedics were watching in wonderment.

The robot then turned to walk away. Nate's voice came from a speaker on its chest. "It was nice to meet you Tom. You can come again if you want," he said.

"I'd really like that Nate," said Tom. "I'll email OK ?"

"OK," said Nate's voice. Then the robot turned and walked slowly back inside the building.

Tom climbed into the ambulance with Dan and breathed out slowly. He was so glad that was over.

Frank and the others were waiting at the hospital when Dan and Tom reached there. Dan was taken away to be seen by the doctors. Zoe and Aneisha ran up to Tom and hugged him. "Thankyou Tom," said Zoe, with tears in her eyes.

"You were brilliant Tom," said Aneisha. "I don't think anyone else could have dealt with that as well as you did," she added.

Tom felt really touched, and couldn't speak for a moment. Frank stood smiling at him. "You did really well Tom. Well done," he said. Tom now felt fit to burst he was so proud. He'd completed a mission on his own ! "I've already been speaking to HQ. They are really keen to bring Nate into MI9. They want him to work on his robots and they want to keep him out of the reach of KORPS too !"

"Is he going to be in trouble ?" asked Tom, concerned. "He really doesn't understand you know."

"I know," Frank assured him. "He's not in any trouble. We just need to talk him into moving over to MI9. He might find it difficult to adjust to the change. Perhaps the prospect of having new friends would help ?" he suggested.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. He's alright," said Tom. "His stuff is fantastic !"

They had to wait an hour or so before someone called them in to see Dan. Dan had woken up, but was still drowsy. The doctor told them that the truth serum used by Nate hadn't caused any permanent damage, but would leave Dan groggy for the rest of the day. Dan lay in a hospital bed, looking round him bleary-eyed.

"Dan ? How are you feeling ?" Zoe asked him, taking his hand.

Dan looked at her, seeming to struggle to focus on her face. "Hm ? Um, OK," he mumbled. "What happened ?"

"Well, you were kidnapped by a robot and interrogated by the autistic genius who built all the robots in the KORPS factory," explained Tom.

Dan looked confused for a moment. "Oh," he said. "Did I tell them anything ?" he asked.

"No, not much," Frank assured him. "It's not going to be a problem. Don't worry about it Dan," he said kindly.

"OK," said Dan, and promptly fell asleep again.

Frank motioned the others out of the room. Once outside, Zoe turned to Frank in confusion. "Dan told Nate everything about MI High didn't he ?" she asked.

"Yes, but Dan doesn't need to know that," said Frank. "He'd just feel guilty about it, and he had no choice. Let him get some rest. If we are able to recruit Nate into MI9 there isn't going to be a problem with him knowing about MI High is there ?"


	12. Chapter 12

Tom has found the best ever role playing game on the internet. It seems better than real life, although it has some strange similarities. Just who is Tom playing with ? I don't own any of the MI High characters. I'm just borrowing them.

_Frank motioned the others out of the room. Once outside, Zoe turned to Frank in confusion. "Dan told Nate everything about MI High didn't he ?" she asked._

"_Yes, but Dan doesn't need to know that," said Frank. "He'd just feel guilty about it, and he had no choice. Let him get some rest. If we are able to recruit Nate into MI9 there isn't going to be a problem with him knowing about MI High is there ?"_

When they returned to their base, Tom had received a message from Nate. "Oh no !" said Tom. "Frank, Nate's told KORPS he isn't going to work for them any more !"

"Oh dear. That's really not a good idea," said Frank. "Warn him Tom ! I'll get on to HQ"

Tom used instant messaging to get through to Nate quickly. He passed on his phone details. After a minute Nate called him. "Tom, what do you mean, they won't like it ?" asked Nate, puzzled.

"Nate, you could have put yourself in danger," warned Tom. "If KORPS think you are going to go over to MI9 they might try to attack you or take you prisoner, or even kill you !"

"Oh. I didn't think of that," said Nate. "Just a minute," he said. There was a pause and then his voice came back over the phone.

"There are people outside. They are trying to break into the building," reported Nate. Tom looked round to Frank who had heard what was being said. He gestured to Tom and took his phone.

"Nate, this if Frank. If KORPS are attacking you, we could help. Do you want MI9 to help you ?" he asked.

"OK, yes," said Nate. "My robots are quite good at protecting me."

"You may need some more help," warned Frank. "I'll arrange a SWAT team to take on the KORPS people if you agree to it Nate," he said.

There was a moment's silence and then Nate's voice said, "Yes, OK. I don't want to work for KORPS any more."

Frank took Tom and Zoe with him to join the MI9 SWAT team at Nate's building. When they arrived, there was a gun battle going on between the MI9 snipers and the KORPs people. The front door of Nate's building had been blown in and smoke was pouring out. Tom was worried for Nate's safety. He needn't have worried. After a minute or two KORPS agents started being hurled out of the door. They were being thrown by Nate's large humanoid robot. This made Tom smile.

Finally the battle died down. Many of the KORPS agents fled, and the rest were rounded up by the MI9 team. Tom phoned Nate and asked if they could come inside. Nate agreed that Frank, Tom and Zoe could come upstairs.

Frank and Zoe were equally blown away by the robotics which Nate had developed. They found Nate in his laboratory looking upset. "They broke some of my things," complained Nate. "I don't like smoke," he added.

Tom managed to calm him by telling him that the battle outside was over. "Tom said I could work for MI9," Nate said to Frank.

"Yes you can. We would love to have you," said Frank.

"Would you ?" asked Nate, surprised. "Oh. I don't like things different though," he said.

"Well, why don't you give us the plans to your building and we will try to replicate it for you," suggested Frank. "Then you could move into somewhere the same, but in a different, secret location," he said.

"If you want some friends, we could come and see you," suggested Zoe. Nate stared at her as if she were some kind of alien creature.

"Are you Zoe ?" Nate asked. She told him she was in fact Zoe.

"Oh. Dan really likes you. He likes you a real lot," said Nate. "I don't know why that is. He just said so," he added. Zoe blushed bright red. Tom felt a bit sorry for her. Nate didn't really understand about subtlety, or embarrassment or any other kind of emotion really.

"I'm still waiting to play that game you promised me Nate," said Tom, in an attempt to divert Nate's attention away from Zoe, who he was now staring at in fascination.

"Yes. I think I need a new house. It would be good if it was just like this one," said Nate. "I'd like that."

Frank arranged for Nate to be provided with guards until his new accommodation was ready. They managed to make the move as untraumatic as they could for Nate. Once he was inside his new building, he seemed to relax. They had replicated as much as they could from his old building. The builders discussed some improvements they could make and Nate had agreed.

A few weeks later, the team arrived to visit Nate. Dan was apprehensive, but curious to meet the person who had kidnapped him. Aneisha and Dan were amazed by their first sight of the robotics equipment that Nate had built. It was unnerving for Dan to find that Nate appeared to know all about him, when he had no memory of ever meeting him. He suspected that Frank hadn't been entirely truthful about how much information he had given away to Nate.

The worst moment came when Nate decided to question Dan about his relationship with Zoe. "Do you love each other ?" asked Nate curiously. Both Dan and Zoe turned bright red.

"Um, we're not going out or anything," said Dan. "Well, we did go out once, sort of," he stumbled.

"Do you hold hands and things ?" asked Nate, relentlessly.

"Erm, yes sometimes," said Dan.

"Do you kiss ?" asked Nate.

Dan's voice was steadily rising with tension and embarrassment. "Not yet," he practically squeaked. Dan looked helplessly at Tom with a 'Rescue Me !' look on his face.

"I think you're embarrassing Dan," said Tom laughing.

"Oh. Is that the red face stuff ?" asked Nate.

"Yes. That's the one," said Tom.

"Why do you like Dan ?" Nate then asked Zoe.

Zoe seemed to be better at dealing with Nate's curiousity. "Well, he's kind and thoughtful and he tries to look after me," she said, smiling at Dan. It didn't seem possible that Dan could have got any redder, but Tom was pretty sure he did. Tom glanced across at Aneisha. She was desperately trying to smother her hysterics. Tom considered letting Nate continue, but decided to take pity on Dan.

"Nate, the others were hoping you could show them what your robots could do," he suggested.

Nate immediately gave them a tour of the robots in his house and showed them what they could do. They were all impressed with Nate's work. Frank and Tom in particular were having a great time. Eventually, it came time to leave and Nate told them that they were all welcome to come and visit him, but they should call him first so he would be ready. They agreed and left.

"Wow, he's a genius alright," said Frank, admiringly.

"I knew you'd be impressed," said Tom.

Dan just looked relieved to be leaving.

THE END

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed.**


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